79 year old mother refuses to train.

I got her a good (non SSC) trainer. I had him do things like you did with Gus - stand up out of chair with out using hands, etc. She loved it, then her arthritis started acting up. Sent me this email today:

"Just saw orthopedist. He gave me exercises and told me not to see trainer bec exercising is activating arthritis under knee caps. I told him that on Saturday we only worked on upper body bec of knee issues and now I couldnt hold a coffee cup with one hand. He thought I should have figured out that these exercises weren't working for me. I will do the exercises he gave me to strengthen my knees. Also told me to take aleve instead of Tylenol. Saying good bye to the trainer. That was my instinct. He also said that I should walk every day. Most important thing to do."

Now I agree that walking is incredibly important, and she needs to do more, but can you suggest any counterarguments to this ortho?

My Mother is 10 years younger and in a very similar circumstance. I've not tried getting her to train because she wouldn't listen to me anyways. No matter how hard you try you will never be as smart as your Mother in her eyes and the Dr. is right because well he's a Dr.

When they're younger, they won't do this, because they either don't have time, or they are very afraid of getting bulky, and becoming the Schwarzenegger N2. When they're 60 - 70++, they claim it's not good for them, and it's better to walk(and thanks god if they are really walking, and not watching TV), and anyway it's already too late.

Now I agree that walking is incredibly important, and she needs to do more, but can you suggest any counterarguments to this ortho?

There's very little way to respond other than to state that the doctor is completely talking out of his ass and knows absolutely nothing about barbell training. But as others have said, you're going to lose that argument every time. Because he has a medical degree, and you don't. And that medical degree gives him an automatic presumption of correctness even when he's talking about something that he has no experience with himself.

Until barbell training in older populations becomes mainstream, it will be irrationally feared and discouraged by the medical profession as a whole. And despite the yeoman efforts of many SSCs to bring barbell training to older populations, I suspect we're consigned to narrowcasting for a while yet.

The only way that I've been remotely successful is slowly wearing my mother down. It took my five years to convince her that fibromyalgia was bullshit. Her "fibro fog" cleared up once she got off of Ambien. Which her doctor had her on every night for five years. Took about 3 weeks and she was back to good mentally. Then, I finally got her in to see a massage therapist. After three months (and being told she was in the worst shape the therapist had ever seen), her daily pain went from an 8 to a 1 or 2. I was hoping this would immediately segue into "Now... if we train those muscles we can nearly eliminate the pain and you'll be able to pick up your grandchildren." Didn't take, but I'm still not done. At least she started walking at the community center and signed up for water aerobics. I know it's not DTFP, but if anything I've learned that you've got to be patient with people and accept any progress, even if it's not strength training, as a step in the right direction. Above all- don't piss them off. You can annoy occasionally, but if you piss them off the door slams shut.